I spent Christmas with my friend Tess's family in Madrid. We sang lots of Spanish and English Christmas carols with her Dad playing guitar, me leading the English songs and him leading those in Spanish. It was wonderful to be around a Christmas tree, a big meal and a family, even though it wasn't my own. Since I know them from New Jersey, it felt like a taste of home.Then, the day after Christmas, my Dad came to visit for a week to make me feel even closer to home! We spent time in Madrid and Barcelona and Toledo, overdosing on Spanish food and sightseeing. :)
We got to spend New Year's Eve together also.
New Years Eve in Spain is a little different than in America. First of all, in Spain they don't count down from 10 and unfortunately, there is no ball to drop.. :( But, instead, they count the 12 bongs of the clock when it strikes midnight and on each bong you are supposed to eat a grape. Now some people have said that you make a wish with every grape and other people have said that you think of one wish the whole time. The point is there are 12 grapes and you must eat them all. Also, families eat dinner together to ring in the new year and then the "young adults" go out around 2 or so to party until the restaurants open in the morning to serve them churros and chocolate. (I didn't make it that far...)
In Madrid they also have a rehearsal New Years Eve. (Any excuse Spain can find to party will do...) This happens on Dec. 30th in the Puerta del Sol, which is Spain's version of Times Square. It's basically the same thing as New Year's Eve except you can eat anything but grapes when the clock strikes midnight. Dad and I got to experience this fake New Year's Eve.
On New Year's day, I flew to Ireland to meet up with my roommate, Michelle. We spent 5 days touring around Ireland. Everything was so so green even though it was the middle of Winter. I think one of my favorite parts was exploring the Blarney Castle. I felt like a little girl in a fairy tale. The whole trip was pretty spectacular. It was great to bask in some of our comforts from home. For example: speaking English again, having several coffee options, find couches and comfy chairs at coffee shops, having dryers to dry clothes, bagels, central heating....
I loved learning about Irish history especially hearing it while in Ireland because so much of our history and heritage comes from Ireland. Almost every single person I know in the United States is "part Irish." It was unbelievable to hear the stories of the potato famine and how people were put in jail for stealing food and then sent to the United States and exiled from the country.
Some people were forced to leave everything they knew behind just to try to start a new life in America. The potato famine is the reason why so many Americans are there today. I guess it was very impacting to be on the land where this all took place and to walk along the beach of the Atlantic, looking out, knowing that the other side holds New York City.Another impacting day was when Michelle and I went to Cobh, a small city outside of Cork, from where the Titanic left to make it's way to America.
The reason Michelle and I got to see so many things in Ireland is because we signed up for a 3-day tour with about 20 other people our age that took us to all the main sites in the country. It was crazy to get so close with these people in only three days and to learn about their stories and share such awesome memories of Ireland with them. We were all from different places with different backgrounds and reasons for being on this trip.
One of the guys on the trip had been dating a girl for 3 years and they were about to get married. He had money saved up to buy a house but the girl left him so he used the money to travel instead. He's from Australia and had been traveling for 5 months. His time in Ireland left him with 2 weeks left before he would be out of money and have to go home and face what he left there 5 months ago. Another girl had spent several years as a linguistics specialist and was burnt out. She needed to escape for a while to try to figure out what to do next with her life that she thought was all planned out and perfect. Two of the girls were from the States and on their Winter break from college. They weren't there to escape anything or reflect; they just wanted to have a good time. There was a girl who had never traveled by herself before in her life and who's fiancé is in the army. She hadn't seen him in months and has always wanted to travel so he encouraged her to go ahead and do it. This trip was her first trip by herself.
Another married woman had come on this trip because she and her husband had just had affairs with other people and she needed to clear her head. She had always wanted to go to Ireland and he thought it would be a good idea for her to get away before they reunite and commit to working things out. So, she grabbed a friend and left. There was a brother and sister from the mid-west. The brother was in his first year of college and had never been anywhere out of the country and the sister was in her fourth year. They wanted to travel together before they parted ways again to go back to their schools. There was an Italian guy who had been living in London for over a year learning English. There was a German guy who was born and raised by his German family in Africa but was back in Germany for college. He spoke 5 or so different languages. Then there was me and Michelle. Michelle from California, me from New Jersey, both of us 2 years out of college, teaching in Spain, both of us not wanting to start "real jobs" in the States, both of us wanting to see the world. Michelle is planning to go to grad-school for the next 2 years back in California. Me? Who knows...
Oh, when I step into the light my arms open wide
When I step into the light my eyes searching wildly
Would you not like to be sittin' on top of the world with your legs hangin' free?
Would you not like to be ok?
I can't believe that we would lie in our graves
Wondering if we had spent our living days well
I cant believe that we would lie in our graves
Dreaming of things that we might've been.
-Dave Matthews Band (Lie in Our Graves)
